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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26878918">NO mourners, NO funerals!</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dearthisbe/pseuds/Dearthisbe'>Dearthisbe</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Book 2: Crooked Kingdom, F/M, helnik - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:20:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,259</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26878918</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dearthisbe/pseuds/Dearthisbe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>At the end of crooked kingdom (spoiler) Matthias get shot, but what if there was more hope for him? What if Nina and the crows could save him?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck, Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa, Matthias Helvar/Nina Zenik</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>NO mourners, NO funerals!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey! So I don't believe in the death at the end of crooked kingdom, and had to write this:)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“What's taking Matthias so long? Do you think that the medik gave him trouble?<br/>
But then she saw him striding toward her across the empty square. He raised his hand in greeting. She leapt from the boat and ran to him, throwing herself into his arms.<br/>
‘düsje, he said against her hair. ‘you’re all right.’<br/>
“Of course i'm alright. You're the one who is late.’<br/>
‘I thought i wouldnt be able to find you in the storm.’<br/>
Nina pulled back. ‘Did you stop to get drunk on the way here?’<br/>
He cupped her cheek with his hand. ‘No, he said and then he kissed her.’<br/>
‘matthias.’<br/>
‘Did i do it wrong?’<br/>
‘No, you did it splendidly, but i'm the one who always kisses you first.’<br/>
‘We should change that,’ he said and then he slumped against her.</p><p>‘Matthias!’<br/>
‘Its nothing, I needed to see you again.’<br/>
‘Matthias, o saints.’<br/>
The coat he'd been holding fell away and she saw the bullet wound in his stomach. His shirt was soaked with blood. ‘Help!’ She screamed. ‘Somebody help!’ </p><p>She heard Inej’s footsteps running towards them. ‘Inej, he has been shot, get help!’ She cupped Matthias face. ‘It’s going to be alright love, everything is alright.’ A tear rolled over her cheek.<br/>
‘Nina…..’ He tried to find the strength to brush Nina over her cheek, but he didn’t have any.<br/>
Inej was finally there and she gapes at his wound.<br/>
‘Nina, put pressure on it! I am going to get Jesper.’<br/>
‘You don’t know how far Jesper is!’<br/>
‘I will find a way, I promise’, and then she was gone again. Only she and Matthias remained.<br/>
Nina pushed her hands against the wound, and Matthias flinched.<br/>
‘Don’t leave me Matthias,’ she tried to use every single bit of her power to heal him. She felt his heart weakly, but tried to let it beat faster. Her power wasn’t how it was, and she gave up.<br/>
‘Nina,’ he said with a soft voice,’ it’s alright my love’. Nina takes his cold hand and brings it to her face, all the while holding her other hand over the wound.<br/>
‘Matthias, you can do this, help is on the way. We made it through this, we are going to make it through this also.’ The grisha was fully crying now, and couldn’t stop. She wanted to scream, but she knew nobody could help her.<br/>
‘Nina, if I die, take me to fjerda’. Matthias suddenly said.<br/>
‘I can’t Matthias, because you are not going to die!’ Tears made her dress wet.<br/>
‘You can do this Matthias.’<br/>
‘Tell me something.. anything.’ Nina took a breath.<br/>
‘I can tell you about the life I imagine with you?’<br/>
‘Yes, tell me’, he softly grinned and Nina smiled carefully at him.<br/>
‘We would buy a house. A typical Ravkan house. With embroidered cushions and soft duvets. We would be happy, living everyday together. Kiss every chance we get.’, Nina tried to restrain another sob,’I want to show you ravka as i know it, we could visit the palace, and i could show you where i grew up. You would show me Fjerda, and we would save children that are hypnotized by the fjerdan government. And maybe we could adopt a wolf, call it dirty hands.’<br/>
Matthias laughed, and coughed.<br/>
‘Nina, I want that life with you. I wouldn’t want any other life.’<br/>
The grisha pressed a soft kiss on his lips, still trying not to sob. She didn’t want him to lose hope. </p><p>‘Who shot you matthias?’<br/>
Matthias was too weak to look away, but if he could he would've done it.<br/>
‘Tell me love.’ Nina began to sob.<br/>
‘A fjerdan boy, he wanted to kill the betrayer.’ Another tear falls down his cheek.<br/>
‘O matthias,’ Nina brushed his cheek. She was fully crying again. She knew how much pain only the fact that he was named a betrayer in his own country caused him. Even though he didn’t agree anymore with the fjerdan believes, it was still his home country.<br/>
She brushed his tears away, mumbling reassuring words while trying not to fully breakdown herself. </p><p>Then she heard it, gallops. Nina sat upright. ‘Matthias, I think that is help.’ If he only could see the hope she had in her eyes at that moment.<br/>
It had to be help Nina thought. The streets were empty, everybody was inside, scared for another virus. </p><p>The gallops get more loud, she hears wheels now too.<br/>
It couldn’t be she thought, but it was. </p><p>In the distance, she sees a coach with a horse spanned before it. A tall Zemeni boy is sitting at the front of the coach, with a young looking boy next to him. </p><p>‘Nina!’ Jesper yelled. He told the horse to stop by pulling some robe and they stopped. He immediately jumped off the black coach and ran towards them. </p><p>‘Tell me what happened Nina! Is he still breathing?’<br/>
Nina tries to find the words.<br/>
‘He has a bullet wound in his stomach, Jesper please help, I don’t know what to do!'<br/>
The tall boy already hung over Matthias and pulled his shirt away. Wylan held a lantern over them.<br/>
‘Can I help?’ A soft voice said behind Nina.<br/>
‘Hold him still, I need to take out the bullet.’<br/>
Inej nodded and took Matthias cold hands in hers. ‘This is going to hurt Matthias, but otherwise the bullet can strike your organs.’<br/>
‘Nina, do you still have that hair pin?’ Nina pulled it out her hair and pressed a light kiss on it. Then she threw it to Jesper. He quickly cleaned the pin with his shirt and stretched the bullet wound. Matthias groaned. </p><p> </p><p>‘We shall see,’ and his eyes narrow when he gently put the pin in the bullet wound. Matthias groaned even harder and Nina moved to him and held his head. She placed a gentle kiss on his lips and stroked his jaw. ‘It’s going to be alright my love.’</p><p>‘I see it! Wylan hold the shirt ready!’ Wylan had a ripped piece of fabric in his hands and sat next to Matthias. The poor boy got awfully white when he looked at the wound. Jesper carefully stretched one finger in the wound and Matthias screamed. Nina had to close her eyes. Inej held Matthias steady, and then Jesper used the pin to enter the wound, he got a silver bullet out. Wylan immediately pushed the fabric on top of it and he and Jesper bound it around Matthias’s stomach. Matthias groaned in response.<br/>
‘You are lucky Matthias, the bullet didn’t strike your organs, I don’t even know how you pulled that off’<br/>
Matthias just returned a weak nod. </p><p>Nina stroked his hair. ‘It’s alright my love, stay with me. The bullet is out, everything is going to be alright.’ Another tear came down her cheek and fell on Matthias’s forehead.<br/>
‘Nina, don’t cry.’ He almost whispered.<br/>
‘I’m not.’ But  she was. Everything would be going alright, they would’ve been together. Without bullet wounds.<br/>
She didn’t have much time to cry though, cause Jesper opened the coach.<br/>
‘We need to lift him in the coach, can you try to stand up Matthias?’<br/>
Matthias weakly nodded and tried to find the power to stand up, Nina helped him by pulling his torso up. Her partner was heavy, she used all her strength to help him up.<br/>
Jesper quickly took his left arm and swung it over his shoulders. Nina did the same at his right side. They stumbled to the coach and helped him enter it. </p><p>The coach was all black, with only one lantern hanging from the ceiling. Nina helped him lie down on the small coach bench, with his head in her lap. </p><p>‘We are going to go real fast, so please keep him steady.’ Jesper said and he closed the door to sit by the horse with Wylan. Nina guessed he learned to ride a coach when he still lived in his home country. </p><p>Inej sat across Nina, breathing slowly in and out.<br/>
‘It wasn’t supposed to go this way.’ She said.<br/>
‘No, it wasn’t.’<br/>
‘I knew the risks, but I didn’t count on…’<br/>
‘Me neither.’<br/>
Inej closed her eyes, as if hoping that none of this happened when she opened them again. She hated this, especially for her friend, Nina knew it. </p><p>‘How did you get this coach? How in the hell did you even find Jesper that soon?’ She suddenly said. Nina didn’t think of that when she was in the rush to get Matthias out of there that she didn’t realise how crazy it was that her friends were that soon to help. </p><p>‘I climbed over the roofs by the place Jesper and Wylan had to go, I luckily saw them and called for them. Then we needed to go there as soon as we could, and we saw a coach standing at a corner so we just took it.’<br/>
‘The horse?’<br/>
‘Was standing next to it, the owners didn’t care, I think.’<br/>
‘Thank you.’<br/>
‘You are my friends, Nina. This is what you do for friends.’</p><p>Nina wiped a tear from her eyes. She had to stay strong, for Matthias. She softly combed Matthias sweaty hair with her fingers, as if comforting a small child. His eyes were half closed, long wet eyelashes hiding his vision. </p><p>‘Sing for me’, Matthias suddenly whispered. Nina smiled through her sadness, he was clearly not thinking straight given that he wanted to hear her sing. With Inej in the same coach. </p><p>‘Please?’, he whispered again. Inej grinned at them.<br/>
‘Alright then, let me think of a song.’ Matthias smiled weakly. </p><p>‘Deep in the meadows,<br/>
far away from here<br/>
is a little light<br/>
chased by the children<br/>
chased by the deers<br/>
lavender breeze’</p><p>Nina only sang when she had drunk a lot of kva’s, but her voice wasn’t bad.<br/>
Matthias’s cold hand moved towards her face, he brushed her cheek with his thumb, but let his hand fall down again.<br/>
‘Go on.’<br/>
Nina smiled weakly at him. A new tear formed itself at the corner of her eye. </p><p>‘Deep in the mountains<br/>
far away from here<br/>
is a little light<br/>
chased by the nobody<br/>
only by the wind<br/>
winters breeze’</p><p> </p><p>Inej also closed her eyes, moving with the melody of Nina’s ravkan ballad. She learned this song when she was younger, she couldn’t  remember who taught her it. </p><p>They were silent now, she only heard the gallops from the horse, and the wheels from the coach. An occasional ‘Left’ from Wylan indicated that the young men were still out there. </p><p>Matthias was still breathing, slowly but steadier with the minute. Nina’s warm hands warming his cold face. </p><p>After a ride that could’ve been forever, they arrived at the destination. The gallops stopped and Jesper opened the door.<br/>
‘We’re at the hotel, my father will know what to do, I’m going to get Kaz and some medical things from van ec- Wylan’s house.’ Wylan gave an uncertain grin.</p><p> </p><p>‘He’s going to be alright, but my dad needs to patch him up. He did it at home too so I think he can do this.’<br/>
Something about Jesper saying that Matthias was going to be alright comforted Nina. She trusted Jesper in his words. She took a deep breath and for the first time since she found Matthias hurt, she nodded and they helped Matthias out of the coach. Inej bound the horse at a nearby street lantern. </p><p> </p><p>Matthias clutched himself at Nina and with both Wylan’s and Inej’s help they somehow found a way to get him inside. The lobby is luckily closed and they could easily enter the hallway without being seen. They walked slowly, dragging matthias with each step. Nina knew he held himself in, she could see it at his face. He was in a lot more pain than he showed.<br/>
They finally reach the velvet stairs and after a slow and especially painful climb for Matthias, they reach the room where they were the night before, when everyone was still alright. </p><p>Inej knocked on the door, and after a way too long moment, Colm opened the door. ‘Who’s ther- wait, what happened?! Saints, is that a wound? Where is my son?’ Colm was wearing only his pajamas, his glasses lop-sided on his nose.<br/>
‘Jesper is alright, he is getting Kaz, he said you knew how to treat a bullet wound.’ Nina said, while helping to drag Matthias inside. His shirt was stained in blood and the ripped fabric was bound tightly around him. They laid him down on the couch, immediately staining the expensive fabric with blood. Nina sat next to him again and held his hand. Matthias lightly squeezed it.<br/>
Colms eyes were full of shock. ‘I can treat a wound, but that is a bullet wound! What in the name of the saints has happened?’<br/>
‘I will explain later, but Matthias really needs your help now.’ Wylan said.<br/>
Nina saw the desperation in Colm's eyes. The poor man was in shock.<br/>
‘Please’, Nina said. ‘He really needs your help.’ Colm rubbed his eyes. ‘Why don’t go to a hospital?’<br/>
‘We won’t make it in time.’ Nina lied. She knew that it was better to not tell the whole truth.<br/>
‘Please sir, we really need your help. He needs to be stitched up or I don't even know at this point.’ Nina was scared he would say no, but he didn’t. Instead he nodded and looked as if he couldn’t believe that he was actually nodding. </p><p>‘Alright, I’ll do it.’</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you liked it! The story will continue soon:)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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